Ian Middleton (26 October 1928 – 24 October 2007) was a New Zealand

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

, who made a particular mark with his books set in post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Japan. Born in New Plymouth, he was the younger brother of noted New Zealand

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

O. E. Middleton. Blind, he said this gave him a "special perspective but 'without limitation'", and has been attributed to the "strong metaphoric colour, sensual - often erotic - quality and lush verbal richness of his writing". A full list of his publications can be seen at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

's NZ Literature file and more biographical information is at the

New Zealand Book Council Read NZ Te Pou Muramura (formerly the New Zealand Book Council) is a not-for-profit organisation that presents a wide range of programmes to promote books and reading in New Zealand. History It was established in 1972 as a response to UNESCO's ...

's website.

Main works

* ''Pet Shop'' (Waiura: A. Taylor, 1979) * ''Faces of Hachiko'' (

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

: Inca Print, 1984) * ''Sunflower: a Novel of Present Day Japan'' (

: Benton Press, 1986) * '' Mr Ponsonby'' (

: Lyndon, 1989) * ''Reiko'' (

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

: Moana Press, 1990) * ''Harvest'' (

Ōkato Ōkato is a small town in rural Taranaki, New Zealand. It is situated about 25 minutes drive around the coast from New Plymouth on State Highway 45. Oakura is 12 km to the north-east, and Warea is 9 km to the south-west. The place of ...

: Puniho Art Press, 1995) * ''I See a Voice'' (

: Flamingo, 1997) The 'Japanese trilogy' - ''Faces of Hachiko'', ''Sunflower'' and ''Reiko'' - describes a personal and complex portrayal of post-war Japan. ''Pet Shop'', a novel on his early upbringing in small-town New Zealand, wartime Auckland and his experiences on a Norwegian tanker, was described by New Zealand writer Kevin Ireland as "an absorbing picture of the repressions that passed for a moral code".The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, edited by Roger Robinson and Nelson Wattie (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998)

References

1928 births New Zealand male novelists 2007 deaths People from New Plymouth 20th-century New Zealand novelists 20th-century New Zealand male writers {{NewZealand-writer-stub